The Wallingford Home Tour, originally slated for Saturday, October 3, has been canceled, according to Janet Stillman, Director of the Wallingford Neighborhood Office. The reason for the cancellation is that there aren’t enough homes for the tour.

This annual event provided the public with a chance to see many of the beautiful Craftsman Bungalows here in Wallingford. Proceeds of the Home Tour also supports the cost of running the neighborhood office.

I’m not surprised about the lack of participation. This always seemed like an invite for people to come in and case your really nice home.

Wed, September 15 at 3:58 pm

Nancy Loviska said,

That’s a really sad statement. Anybody heard any anecdotal or statistical evidence that people who generously open their home for fundraising tour events get broken into afterwards? Anybody read in the paper yesterday that crime is continuing it’s downward trend?

Wed, September 15 at 4:52 pm

Robert said,

It is a sad statement but I don’t think it’s unrealistic. I’d be interested in statistics regarding homes broken into after the tour to see if this perhaps led to the downturn in participation. I’d also be interested to hear other reasons that people have declined to participate this year. I know some people who participated in the Garden tour don’t want to anymore simply because it is such an exhausting commitment.

Wed, September 15 at 4:59 pm

NancyM said,

I love all of Office Janet’s good will and energy. That being said, what do these fundraiser proceeds do besides pay the rent for the Neighborhood Office and organizing the Seafair Kiddies Parade and Street Fair (very low budget productions)?

Also, I learned the hard way that if you are a garden or home owner in any neighborhood who wants to participate in a tour, ask for proof of an event insurance policy from the organizing organization.

Wed, September 15 at 5:09 pm

Dennis said,

I think cool remodels/restorations are down a bit this year due to the economy. I imagine that is what is most likely reducing the number of folks who are up for participating.

Wed, September 15 at 5:27 pm

Karla said,

I didn’t even see the notices to sign up this year. We did a huge remodel and I would have entertained being part of this.

If you’re interested in checking out a beautiful Wallyhood Craftsman bungalow for free (or, better yet, purchasing one :-), this one will be open this Sunday, 9/19, from 1-4 p.m.! It was beautifully remodeled 2-3 years ago, yet retains many of its 1920s-era details and charm.

We open our home for the tour in 2008 and it went great. We had remodeled the year before and it was fun to meet people and talk about what we did. We only had a positive experience with it. We received a great goodie bag for our efforts. No one broke into our house. I would guess that it’s pretty safe to say that we have the same appliances, computer equipment and such as everyone else, so I doubt a home tour would be super-helpful to would-be thieves.

Wed, September 15 at 7:03 pm

BrianR said,

Karla, If you are serious about signing up for the tour please contact Janet Stillman at the Wallingford Neighborhood Office (behind Tully’s). We would love to have you on the tour next year.

Wed, September 15 at 8:35 pm

Kristin said,

Oh, and my neighbor next door also participated in 2008 and no one broke into his home, either.

Wed, September 15 at 11:19 pm

Jen said,

Our home was on the tour back in 2006 and we had no trouble from people coming through it. I think that’s awful to say that peoples’ houses were broken into because of the tour if you have absolutely no evidence that has ever happened.

Thu, September 16 at 6:57 am

sunshine said,

I have been involved with the Home Tour for several years- both as a volunteer and as someone who has opened their home up for the tour. No one in all the years the tour has been going on has complained about anyone stealing anything. I have always really enjoyed the event- both doing it and walking the tour. Great place to see and meet neighbors. Most people are so thankful and appreciative that you are sharing your home with them. It was also a great push to get a couple things done- finished hanging some art work that had been sitting in the closet. If you are interested in showing/sharing your home next year, I strongly encourage you to get in touch with Janet at the Wallingford Office (behind Tully’s). I know I will missing walking the tour this year with my tour buddies!
Nancy- if you have questions about where the dollars go that get earned from these events, I’m sure Janet would be happy to sit down with you. I have a feeling costs add up pretty quickly and that what looks like a lot of money earned just isn’t. Neighborhood organizations put on events, plant and care for gardens, care if we have a farmer’s market or not- so that we can live in a great neighborhood.
Looking forward to next year’s tour and sorry to miss it this year.

Thu, September 16 at 8:02 am

NancyM said,

@sunshine
It is a happy, community building question that I have been asking for years, since the inception of the office. Show me the money. Perhaps a Weaving Wallingford Board Member will chime in?

Thu, September 16 at 9:03 am

latonamom said,

My house was on a kitchen and bath tour years ago and I have never been burgled. Thieves don’t pay to go on home tours.

Thu, September 16 at 3:48 pm

Jason said,

We did it last year and would’ve gladly done it again this year but were never contacted. We never had anything stolen and everyone who came through was great and very appreciative of us opening up our home. We had done a massive remodel and also had the architects on site and before/after pictures. The builder we used, who lives in Wallingford, even got some follow on work when a neighbor came by a few weeks after the tour to get their contact info. Maybe it’ll happen again next year, I know we enjoyed it.

Fri, September 17 at 11:41 am

Margaret said,

It’s nice to hear your feedback, and it’d be great to drop Janet a line in the Wallingford office, just to let her know you’d like to participate in the future.[email protected]

Fri, September 17 at 11:47 am

avatar said,

I’m really sorry to hear that the tour has been cancelled! I think it’d take a pretty unique burglar to note the signs advertising the tour, shell out money for a ticket on the day of the tour, and then walk around to evaluate ten or so of the hundreds and hundreds of houses in the neighborhood for a later break-in. I tend to think of burglars as more smash-and-grab opportunists than careful planners–unless there’s a Picasso or two in the neighborhood that I’m unaware of. Our home was part of the tour a few years ago (selected as a “before” contrast to all the nice “afters” I’m sure) and it was a great experience. Very nice people in the planning stages and visiting the house too. I hope it’s back next year!

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